The season opener for Lucknow Super Giants against Delhi Capitals on Wednesday, started with a six-wicket defeat. After the match, LSG owner Sanjiv Goenka was seen in an intense discussion with skipper Rishabh Pant and head coach Justin Langer on the field.
The video and images of the discussion went viral on social media with users immediately drawing up comparison to a similar chat that happened couple of years ago involving then skipper of LSG, KL Rahul. That incident happened after an IPL 2024 match, where Goenka was seen having an animated talk with Rahul, which later was viewed as a public fallout between the two.
LSG got off to a poor start to their IPL 2026 campaign at their home ground Ekana, where they were restricted to 141 batting first. Their top-order batters had a poor outing with Pant scoring 7, Aiden Markram making 11 and Nicholas Pooran adding just 8 runs. The Lucknow bowlers did put up a fight but Sameer Rizvi (70) and Tristan Stubbs (39) took the game away from the hosts as Delhi registered a dominant win with 2.5 overs to spare.
After the loss, Goenka was seen on the field having a serious discussion with Pant and coach Langer. The visuals of the discussion went viral online, triggering a debate on social media.
After LSG’s loss to DC on Wednesday, Goenka took to X and shared a post extending confidence and support to the captain and the team to bounce back with “strength”.
“This is a long season, and moments like these are part of building something meaningful. I have full confidence in our captain and the team to respond with strength. To our fans, thank you for your support at Ekana today, we will come back stronger. The story of @LucknowIPL this season is far from written,” he wrote on X.
On the eve of the match, Langer had kept Pant’s batting position under wraps, but the LSG skipper opened the innings on Wednesday before being run out at the non’striker’s end for seven runs. He himself is undecided about his batting position in the coming matches.
“It’s a 50-50 call,” Pant said when asked if he would continue opening the batting for LSG in IPL 2026.
